Achievement Unlocked: Hundred Refinements to Steel!

"How? How could this be?"

The first floor of the Gravity Training Tower fell into sudden, deathly silence.

Every senior student wore a look of utter shock.

They could not believe it.

A stationary training dummy had actually exploded from the inside out!

"Something is wrong!"

"This freshman must have cheated!"

"We all saw him punch the training dummy the entire time!"

"When he threw the punch, the training dummy didn't even budge."

"How could this training dummy even be blown up? I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Has anyone among the juniors or seniors ever managed to do it?"

"I... I don't know."

"..."

The crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion, filled with all sorts of voices.

The shock Ye Xiao had brought upon this group was simply too great.

Everyone had witnessed the durability of the training dummy with their own eyes.

To destroy it, one would at least need the strength of Old Man Black, the gatekeeper.

But now.

Ye Xiao had destroyed the training dummy, which meant he possessed the same level of strength as Old Man Black?

That was complete nonsense!!

Every senior present held this exact thought.

As the culprit behind the destruction of the training dummy.

After Ye Xiao threw that perfect punch.

He was completely drained of every last ounce of strength.

He collapsed onto the ground once again.

But a smile hung on his face.

[Ding!]

[You have completed a punch, the force of this punch was: 100%!]

[Obtained 20 Martial Value!]

[Congratulations on successfully comprehending the passive skill: Hidden Force!]

[Congratulations on exceeding the limits of your physical potential! Your realm has increased significantly!]

[Current Realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 101st Layer!]

[Current Realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 102nd Layer!]

[...]

[Current Realm: Mud Embryo Realm · 120th Layer!]

This single punch.

Had directly boosted Ye Xiao by a full 20 layers of his realm!

He could feel the power within his body surging upward!

These newly acquired realm powers.

Were causing his cells and bones to undergo an unknown, mysterious, and subtle evolution.

Although Ye Xiao had squeezed his body dry of all potential and strength.

The amount of power his body could contain had also expanded!

Once he rested.

Ye Xiao's strength would see a massive improvement compared to before.

At this moment.

Ye Xiao checked the new passive skill he had just comprehended on his own.

[Hidden Force (Passive): When you throw a punch, you can leave a portion of Hidden Force inside the target!]

"Even though my whole body hurts like hell, it feels great!"

Ye Xiao burst into laughter: "Hahahahahaha!"

The senior students in the distance watched as Ye Xiao lay paralyzed on the ground.

And yet, he was still laughing.

They increasingly felt that this freshman was a madman!

Who in their right mind would cultivate by risking their life like this?

But there were things these people did not know.

The Ye Xiao they mocked, the Ye Xiao they viewed as a lunatic, was using a frantic cultivation method that no one could comprehend.

He was forging his cultivation foundation through a process of a hundred refinements to steel!

Currently, Ye Xiao had already reached the 120th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm!

"120 layers is just the beginning!"

"I am going to push for the 1000th layer!"

Just as Ye Xiao achieved the "Hundred Refinements to Steel" milestone, his Path of the Strong updated with a new goal.

Following the "Hundred Refinements to Steel" milestone, a new uncompleted milestone appeared: "Thousand Refinements to Gold"!

[Thousand Refinements to Gold! Trigger condition: Reach the 1000th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm! (Uncompleted) Reward: Extreme Martial Body (Initial Embryo)!]

Ye Xiao's gaze was firm, his eyes shining with brilliance as he stared at "Thousand Refinements to Gold"!

I am currently at the 120th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm, and I feel my combat power is already comparable to the third stage of the professional ranks, he thought to himself.

If I can break through to the 1000th layer of the Mud Embryo Realm, what professional stage would my combat power be equivalent to then?

Ye Xiao became increasingly expectant regarding this prospect.

What of an E-rank talent?

What does it matter if it is the weakest profession?

What is the problem with being stuck at the first stage?

As long as his punching power could continuously increase, nothing else mattered.

"No matter how strong the enemy is, as long as I cultivate the power of this punch to the extreme!"

"With one force, I shall break ten thousand laws; with one punch, I shall suppress and kill them!"

A raging battle intent ignited within Ye Xiao's heart.

Immediately following this, because Ye Xiao was lying on the ground in front of the shattered training dummy, he had become quite famous.

Many senior students were gathered around watching him.

People from the upper floors had even come down specifically to gawk.

Although Ye Xiao did not care about the opinions of others, this feeling of being watched like a monkey was still quite strange.

Therefore, Ye Xiao opened his Martial Heart Mall, preparing to purchase a "Martial Dao Golden Pellet (Small)" to quickly replenish his strength.

Just as Ye Xiao was about to spend 5 points of Martial Value to make the purchase, an old man's face suddenly leaned in right in front of him.

It was none other than Old Man Black, who was responsible for guarding the Gravity Training Tower.

He hunched over, smiling as he peered down at Ye Xiao.

Then, he tossed a red medicinal pill down.

As luck would have it, it landed right in Ye Xiao's mouth.

Ye Xiao instinctively wanted to spit out the unknown object, but Old Man Black's voice drifted over leisurely.

"This is a Tiger Sun Pill; consuming it can replenish your strength and blood energy."

"Don't regret it if you spit it out."

"You can't buy this stuff outside; it's exclusively supplied by the Alchemy Academy, and I only had one."

Hearing this, Ye Xiao forced his pouting lips back into a neutral line.

Then, half-doubting, he chewed.

Once the Tiger Sun Pill was crushed, a fiery sensation erupted, much like eating a chili pepper.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Choked, Ye Xiao coughed repeatedly.

But the very next moment.

The crushed Tiger Sun Pill entered Ye Xiao's body.

As the medicinal effects took hold.

Ye Xiao felt his meridians, previously drained of all power, generating energy at an incredible speed.

His depleted blood and qi were rapidly replenished.

His overexerted muscle cells were being richly nourished.

The strength he had completely exhausted was surging back!

This feeling of strength rapidly returning is truly amazing!

The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and Ye Xiao felt he could go another round!

After lying on the ground for two minutes.

Ye Xiao was already able to stand up with relative ease.

And at this moment.

His muscles had taken shape.

Not bulky, explosive muscles, but lean, well-defined lines.

While maintaining a balanced physique.

His body now harbored a terrifying amount of explosive power.

"Many thanks, Old Man Black!"

Ye Xiao quickly called out his gratitude in the direction Old Man Black had left.

Old Man Black waved a hand.

"Don't thank me; thank yourself."

Hearing this.

Ye Xiao was slightly stunned: "Thank myself?"

"Old Man Black, I wanted to thank you for the pill."

Old Man Black replied.

"Who said I gave you that Tiger Sun Pill for free?"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Ye Xiao froze on the spot.

The gratitude he had felt just moments ago vanished into thin air.

Good grief!

He had been played!

He had assumed the pill was a free gift.

Turns out it was a predatory loan!

Old Man Black added another sentence: "I'll give you two choices."

"One is to return an identical Tiger Sun Pill to me."

"The other is to do one thing for me."

As soon as Ye Xiao heard this.

He understood everything immediately.

Old Man Black had already said earlier that this Tiger Sun Pill was extremely precious and that he only had one.

Therefore, it was unrealistic for Ye Xiao to return an identical Tiger Sun Pill.

That left him with no choice but to do one thing for Old Man Black.

Ye Xiao quickly jogged to catch up, walking alongside Old Man Black.

He said: "Old Man Black, I have principles and a bottom line. I won't do things like murder or arson, and I don't engage in debauchery..."

Old Man Black shook his head, speechless, and just kept walking with his head down.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and asked out of the blue.

"Is there anything else you don't do?"

Ye Xiao was stunned for a moment; he had only been joking when he said that.

It seemed Old Man Black was actually taking him seriously?

He shook his head. "I don't think there's anything else."

Old Man Black suddenly revealed a strange smile.

"Fine then, you go and seduce someone."

"Se, seduce? Seduce who? I don't do things like seducing innocent women!" Ye Xiao retreated two steps in shock.

Old Man Black tapped his cane against the ground and spoke with a stern expression.

"She is also a freshman in your year, the little girl from the Su family, Su Muyun."

"Once you seduce her and bring her to see me, we will be even."